There are currently three key issues pertaining to the marine environment: climate change, loss of biodiversity and pollution. The world's oceans are affected by the degradation of the land, sea and air, which have enormous consequences for the well-being of all living beings, including marine life. The advent of a new international agreement on the protection of the oceans is thus welcome and needs to be followed up effectively.
Last month, the High Seas-related agreement on the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity of areas beyond national jurisdiction ("The Oceans Treaty") was brought into being and it is the first major multilateral oceanic treaty since the 1992 Law of the Sea (LOS) Convention.
